June 1 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG, Switzerland’s biggest lender,
may move the staff of its U.S. investment bank from Stamford,
Connecticut, to the World Trade Center in Manhattan by 2015, a
person with direct knowledge of the plan said.

Some employees from equities and investment banking have
already relocated from UBS’s Stamford location, which houses the
world’s biggest trading floor, to other offices in New York
City, the person said. The rest would be moved in coming years,
said the person, who declined to be identified because plans for
the transfer haven’t been publicly disclosed.

UBS completed its Stamford expansion in 2002, creating a
trading floor the size of two football fields for 1,400 people.
The office is about an hour by train from Manhattan’s Grand
Central Terminal. UBS leases more than 3 million square feet of
office space for various operations in the New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut region, said Torie von Alt, a spokeswoman for
the Zurich-based bank.

“We routinely evaluate our space allocation as these
leases expire and/or space becomes available,” von Alt said in
an e-mailed statement. “Movement of personnel is a constant in
any active business.”

UBS is in discussions with New York developer Larry
Silverstein for occupying about 800,000 square feet at Three
World Trade Center, one of four towers slated to be built on the
16-acre site, according to another person familiar with the
talks. The person declined to be identified because the
discussions are private. Currently, UBS’s biggest New York City
offices are at 299 Park Avenue and 1285 Avenue of the Americas.

Recovery Plan

The Swiss company is trying to rebuild its investment bank
after record losses during the financial crisis. The lender had
the lowest 2010 revenue from trading, underwriting stock and
bond sales, and advising clients on mergers and acquisitions
among the nine biggest investment banks, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. UBS ranked fourth by revenue among 10
competitors in 2004, the data show.

This year, four of the 10 business heads who reported to
Carsten Kengeter, CEO of the investment bank, left UBS. The bank
saw at least 50 departures from its U.S. investment-banking unit
since 2009.

“If they decide to move back to New York City, this will
be a competitive advantage for them in terms of going after
talent,” said New York-based Lars Gloessner, manager of the
global-markets unit of Huxley Associates, a recruitment firm.

Tax Increase

The move by UBS isn’t related to a Connecticut tax increase
passed earlier this month, according to one of the people.

“It is our understanding the company has made no long-term
decisions as to the future of its operations,” said Catherine
Smith, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic
and Community Development. “We have made very clear the state’s
commitment to seeing UBS maintain and grow its operations in the
state and ensuring our financial-services sector maintains its
competitive edge.”

The departures and speculation in the media have prompted
the bank to reiterate its commitment to the securities unit in
recent weeks. UBS Chief Executive Officer Oswald Gruebel told
U.S. investment bankers in a memo on May 20 that the bank is
“committed” to keeping and investing in the division.

“Our strong commitment to the breadth of the business in
the U.S. is unchanged,” Gruebel wrote in the memo seen by
Bloomberg and confirmed by a UBS spokeswoman.